In 1888 he led the first expedition to cross the Greenland icefields. Five years later he sailed north of Siberia on board the Fram, intending to reach the North Pole by allowing the ship to become frozen in the ice and letting the current carry it towards Greenland. By 1895, it had drifted as far north as 84° 4′; Nansen then made for the Pole on foot, reaching a latitude of 86° 14′, the furthest north anyone had been at that time. Nansen became increasingly involved in affairs of state, serving as Norwegian minister in London (1906–08). In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for organizing relief work among victims of the Russian famine.